The Death of Ivan Ilyich

The Death of Ivan Ilych tells the story of a man facing his mortality in his mid 40s. Published in 1886 by Leo Tolstoy, it gives us a glimpse into Ivan’s attitudes and thoughts as he grapples with the fact that he is dying. We see Ivan working through some heavy existential stuff – anxiety about death, fear of suffering, and feeling helpless when facing the inevitable. but the main thing Ivan realizes at the end is that he lived most of his life without deeper purpose or meaning.

Recommended for: Readers interested in classic Russian literature, particularly the works of Leo Tolstoy. This short story is considered one of Tolstoy’s most accomplished and moving works, and offers a profound exploration of mortality, the human condition, and the meaning of life. It is suitable for general readers as well as students of 19th century Russian literature.

You will:

Immerse yourself in the psychological and emotional journey of the protagonist, Ivan Ilych, as he faces his own impending death
Gain insight into Tolstoy’s philosophical and moral perspectives on life, death, and the human experience
Appreciate Tolstoy’s masterful storytelling, character development, and use of language to convey complex themes
Reflect on the universal questions of how we should live our lives and confront our own mortality
Develop a deeper understanding of the social and cultural context of late 19th century Russia

Plot

Ivan’s Funeral

The story commences with the funeral of Ivan Ilyich, described from the perspective of Peter Ivanovich, his close friend and colleague. Peter Ivanovich discusses the funeral and how he had to conduct himself during the ceremony. He notes the minimal importance Ivan’s death has among his family and friends. Additionally, he highlights the behavior of Ivan’s wife, who complains more about the funeral and does not appear to be moved by her husband’s passing. Furthermore, she asks Peter for advice on how to obtain and maximize her husband’s government pension.

In this part of the novel, Tolstoy criticizes the life and values of Russian society at that time. Moreover, he demonstrates the lack of sincerity and how self-interest takes precedence over other people.

Ivan’s Life

Then, the book begins describing Ivan Ilyich’s life from his childhood until when he achieves a position within the government. Although his childhood was normal like any other child, he got the values and behavior from rich people during his law school. From that point, he begins struggling to climb in his social and professional life. Also, he uses his relationships to get jobs promotions. Then, he got married, but he does not feel happy and comfortable with his marriage. Thus, Ivan takes refuge at work to avoid being with his family because he does not longer tolerate them.

One day while Ivan hangs some curtains on his new home, he falls and injures himself on one side of his body. From this moment Ivan’s life changes, since over time, the pain in his body becomes unbearable. As the pain grows, Ivan’s behavior toward his family becomes more irritable. So, his wife insists that he should visit a doctor. Instead, the doctor cannot identify the source of his illness and makes clear that his illness is terminal. Under those circumstances, Ivan tries to find some medicine that can cure his pain. Unfortunately, he does not see it. While the pain becomes intense, he must quit his job and spend the rest of his days in bed.

Here, he must face his mortality. During the long and painful process of dying, Ivan reflects about his life and the fear of death. Finally, he dies under a three-day agony.

Themes

Tolstoy deals with issues such as the human being’s fear of death and the inability to change destiny. Also, he poses the existential questions of life derived from this context.

Licensing

Leo Tolstoy. The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Edition from 1923. Translated from the russian by Louise and Aylmer Maude. Originally published in 1886. This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain in United States.The author died in 1910 and the translators died in 1938 and 1939. So this translation is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 84 years or less. Text from Wikisource: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Ivan_Ilych
This digital edition is provided by Ebooks-net in 2024 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. The full text of the license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.